install4j is a commercial, freely distributed, portable, multiplatform and extensible graphical software that allows Java application developers to create “Java installers” for their projects, which can be distributed across multiple platforms. It generates application launchers and native installers for Java apps in no time.

Features at a glance

You should use install4j in your Java projects because its extremely easy to install and configure, generates beautiful and modern installers, integrates rich screen and action systems, supports custom applications and auto-updaters, and allows you to easily create custom screens.

In addition, install4j features a native launcher generator, advanced Java Runtime Environment (JRE) bundling, extensive i18n support for translations in multiple languages, and support for mainstream operating systems and hardware platforms (see the “Under the hood” section for details).

Its graphical user interface is easy to use and straightforward. The generated installers can include support for Pack200 and LZMA compression algorithms, Net and CD installers, log files, GUI, CLI and unattended modes, and much more.

Under the hood, availability, pricing and supported OSes

The application is written entirely in the Java programming language and uses the Java Swing GUI toolkit for the graphical user interface. It is supported on any operating system where the Java Runtime Environment is available, including all GNU/Linux distributions, Mac OS X, Solaris, BSD and Microsoft Windows.

install4j is a available for download for free as pre-built binary packages in the sh and tar.gz file formats, as well as native installers for Linux kernel-based operating systems that use either or the DEB or RPM packages. It is fully compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit instruction set architectures.

It is distributed in two editions, Multi-Platform Edition and Windows Edition. While the price for the Multi-Platform Edition of install4j starts from 1999 USD (1578 EUR), the Windows Edition can be purchased for the sum of 699 USD (553 EUR).

install4j was reviewed by Marius Nestor, last updated on October 23rd, 2014